After the Storm
by LadyDevine
Summary: ~Sequel to the Prequel~ Jareth is wracked by guilt, Sarah is going insane and Jareth's daughter finds a secret that could bond or break them forever. Please R&R!
1. Hello Stranger

Disclaimer: Only the character's not portrayed in the movie The Labyrinth belongs to me. The wonderful Mr. Henson and Mr. Lucas own Sarah and Jareth as well as the Labyrinth and all characters from the Labyrinth. I have taken artistic license with it and I hope you enjoy it, but please, don't sue me because I am not making any money off of this.  
  
A/N: If you are confused please read "What Came Before" the prequel that I have written for the Labyrinth. This will explain about Arden and Emily and Annalisa. Please leave a little contribution in the review box! Thank you!  
  
  
  
After The Storm  
  
By Lady Devine  
  
  
  
Prologue: Between the Worlds  
  
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.  
  
It's time.  
  
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.  
  
The voices rang out to her through the veil.  
  
Time.  
  
Time was all she had really.  
  
It's time now.  
  
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.  
  
Apparently the time had come. She wondered what the time was for.  
  
Time is running.  
  
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.  
  
Time is flowing.  
  
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.  
  
Time is coming.  
  
She was losing herself. Slowly, fading into oblivion. A flash of bright light blinded her and she lost herself. She was crying, howling her anger to the world that she had forgotten something terribly important, but suddenly there was a warm body holding her and she forgot why she was crying in the first place.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
_See the man with the lonely eyes… take his hand… you'll be surprised_  
  
The crystal glowed with Inner Light and Arden Le Fae watched her father with a compassionate smile. Her sharp features were a surprise to anyone that saw her, but her pupils, long and crescent moon shaped inside eyes that were one green and one blue had been a serious deterrent. They made people feel uncomfortable, as if she were planning on which herbs to put in the sauce she planned on baking them in. Her father looked remorseful. He had been like this her entire life. Moody, selfish and arrogant were words that described him perfectly, but today he looked sad as well. He stood at the plateau leading to the Labyrinth looking over his lands, the lands that he once shared, the lands that were once full of vitality, that were now brown and baron.  
  
His blond hair hung around his face like a golden hallo and the wind whipped his cape about making him look quit dashing. Her father was a good man deep inside, Arden knew. She had spoken with her mother occasionally, when she would gain strength beyond the veil and come to her. It had happened regularly once a year until eventually her mother stopped coming. She had grown and taken over the Glade, keeping the people and creature's with in it safe from harm. There were no more druidic fae except her Aunt Emily. Emily was in her prime, barely a four hundred and twenty five, but her eyes were haunted and sad and she preferred the Meadow and the company of the Treants and Dryads to the Fae courts. So, when Arden was old enough to take the Glade she had left the castle of the Goblin King and took Emily with her.  
  
Jareth continued to stair out at the Labyrinth and Arden grew weary of her Father's mopping. It had been four hundred years since her mother's death, but the man had become more and more with drawn, terrorizing the inhabitants of the Labyrinth and going to Earth nearly every day. She knew about the mortal woman that had captivated him, and she knew even though he was distant that the guilt was eating away at him. She wondered about her father, her mother on her rare visits had told her much of her father, but never mentioned visiting him, the she stopped coming. Arden supposed it must have been twenty-five or thirty years now, she wondered what happened to her mother, the woman never spoke of her time beyond the veil and Arden never asked. It was unwise to ask of things that she may (hopefully) never know.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: Hello Stranger.  
  
  
  
Drip.  
  
Drip.  
  
Drip.  
  
Why did she always think of him on nights like this? She knew why, there was no fooling herself. She was lonely. He was the evil villain of her dreams, but she had moved beyond that, hadn't she? No, perhaps not. She was a woman now, grown into beautiful woman with a serene sense of the truth and false of things. Some things were real, weather you believed them or not, and some things were not, if you believed them or not. She found comfort in that, in that and the hum of the sewing machine.  
  
_Things are not always what they seem in this place._  
  
No, they hadn't been, but it was the same in the "Aboveground" as she had deemed it after her trip to the Labyrinth. Sometimes people where not what they seemed, and things changed rapidly. Sarah Williams had learned to be like a reed in a river after her adventure. Moving with out resistance, letting the tide carry her away to whatever interesting things would happen.  
  
She knew why she thought of him, she didn't like it, but it was just the way things were. There was something about him, familiar and far away at the same time, which made her think of him when her life had taken a sharp turn. When work was not going as well as it should or bills were hard to pay she thought of him and wondered why she hadn't taken his offer.  
  
_I certainly hope you are what you seem._  
  
Yes, Jareth may have been exactly what he seemed, a lonely, pathetic creature that had catered to her ever whim and yes, he had been generous. It had taken her a long time to admit it, but finally, when she had been a woman for a long time she realized that he had simply done everything for her. Everything to make her happy, but she had to win. She had to have the last word, and she went home to her boring little life in a boring little town and then later she moved to another boring little town in Maine, and bought a boring little house and was living her boring life quite happily with out him.  
  
So, now it was twelve years later. Twelve years of dreams that changed from the innocent to the not so innocent. Twelve years of trying to get the courage to speak to the white barn owl that perched outside of her house nightly Sarah Williams: the woman, decided to see if Jareth, King of the Goblins was really watching over her.  
  
Drip.  
  
Drip.  
  
Drip.  
  
She walked out onto the veranda, a cup of coffee in her hand. It was too hot, but she was feeling cold in the pit of her stomach. Her gown moved like liquid around her legs, giving her a surreal quality. Her long chocolate colored hair was touched with silver and hung in a thick braid down her back. She was beautiful, in the way that all women are beautiful but she also managed to have creamy unblemished skin and a quick smile.  
  
Lonely, yes she was lonely. She had found early on that the sweaty, inexperienced groping and sloppy uncontrolled passion didn't suit her very well. She had indeed taken lovers but it was never anything that lasted more then a night. Never a long term relationship. That didn't entice her. The fair-haired lover in her dreams was the only man she was interested in anything permanent with, and she wasn't sure she was interested in that either.  
  
The white barn owl sat perched on her porch swing. She smiled and nodded at it, as was her usual greeting. "You know, I dream of you still." She said quietly, taking a sip of her coffee before continuing. She didn't think he would take her bait so easily, and he didn't. "Always the same until I was a woman. Always the ball room, but when I grew older they changed, from simple dances to long conversations about the origins of the dwarves and Fairies to bouts of unbridled passion in the oubliette, so dark I could only feel you, and listen to your labored breathing and whimpers." She sounded far away, as if she was there and simply narrating for the bird. Her voice whisper soft with longing. "But of course, it doesn't matter, love doesn't come into play between a King of a mythical land and a mere…"  
  
"Shut up, Sarah." His voice sent shivers down her spine. "You know not what you do." His voice was delightfully low, like syrup assaulting her senses. Jareth had been found guilty of watching over her in the last years, and though his guilt was a dagger in his back he could not stop loving her. Could not stop thinking of her fair skin and defiant nature, could not pull himself away from her day after day.  
  
"Jareth," she said softly, not knowing if she should believe that he was actually there with her. His hair was different, cut to his shoulders and framing his face, she decided immediately that she hated it, though she did like the long black cloak he wore over his britches and loose shirt. He looked pained by her presence, "You look so sad."  
  
He studied her for a moment, like had many a day. Watching her large hazel eyes for some truth, knowing that there was something familiar there but was afraid to ask why. Annalisa was gone, and would be gone forever, he would never see her again, even when he had grown tired of this place and ascended he would be there alone. Why did he feel so damn guilty? Arden would understand, wouldn't she? She was a grown woman now, the ruler of her own lands. Protecting what her mother loved, loving what her mother loved. Doing so much and making her life worth the sacrifice that Annalisa had made to have her.  
  
"What do you want of me Sarah? To mock me for loving you?" He looked at her, his eyes full of something she could not quite place. It certainly wasn't love or admiration, but his eyes shined, perhaps with tears.  
  
"I… I don't know what I want. It was a silly idea to try to talk with you. I apologize for bothering you." She turned away, and half expected him to be gone when she turned back, but still he stood there, his cloak moving gently in the wind and his hair wild about his face. His eyes were so expressive and true. "I suppose that I have always dreamed of calling you to me and asking if you would consider making your offer to me again."  
  
Never had Jareth been more surprised in his life except when a woman was involved. His beloved wife had been fond of keeping him on his toes. He almost wished that Sarah and Annalisa could meet. They would make an incredible pair. He conjured a crystal and waved it in his hands, gracefully, watching her eyes as they followed it. "I can still give you your dreams, precious Sarah. Just say the words and everything you desire will be yours."  
  
He had expected her to say no and walk off. He had expected her to give him that same defiant look and shake her head. He expected many things from her, and once again she surprised him. "Very well. I wish the Goblin King would take me away. Right now." 


	2. Baby Blues

Interlude: Reminiscing.  
  
The Labyrinth had been a sentient creature for longer then any Fae could remember, reaching father back in time then any record could date. She was the oldest land in the Kingdom of Fae. She had been soul bonded to more Kings and Queen's then she could count and each one had a place in her memory but only two had a place in her heart. The late Queen of the Goblins had been cremated as was custom and split into three portions. Part of her going to the Glade and was spread over the Meadow, a part of her was scattered over the Labyrinth and a part of her sat on the mantle of Jareth Le Fae.  
  
The Labyrinth had felt sorrow over her mistress' death and howled her grief in storms that raged for weeks, until Jareth had stepped in and ordered her to allow fair weather. She had given in reluctantly, her heart still broken. The lady was gone, and there was nothing to be done for it, but she could still grieve.  
  
As lonely as She felt the Labyrinth knew that something was drawing near. She felt it coming like one would smell rain, just on the horizon. Something was strange, and the magic kicked up when Annalisa drew her last breath was tremendous and left a backlash of terror and wonder on every Fae and Land in the Fae Kingdom. She had left her mark upon the world in more ways then one.  
  
She had been able to feel her lady, gently, for a long time after her death, a resonance of her personality on the land, but suddenly it had been gone.  
  
The night that Sarah Williams wished away her small brother had been the beginning of something. The clouds on the horizon had drifted near, and on her second visit the Labyrinth saw the clouds and they were above them. Something was here.  
  
Chapter 2: Baby Blues.  
  
A single almond shaped eye the size of a copper tub opened, and a dragon pupil swiveled to settle on a familiar face.  
  
Arden Le Fae groaned and the earth of the Glade trembled with her displeasure. She opened her other eye and sighed, smoke curling from her huge nostrils. She looked at her father, a mixture of annoyance and surprise on her equine features. I could just eat him, one swallow and he would be a memory and would never bother me again. The thought was a pleasant one.  
  
The cave was large and decorated in silks and spider web like fabrics so intricate it hurt the eye. Crystals and talisman's of every origin adorned the bookshelves. Her father, who approved of the room, sat cross-legged in front of her, his mismatched eyes boring into her skull.  
  
Though it meant giving into him, she changed. Slowly morphing from a twenty feet at the shoulder silver dragon into a petite white haired woman with mismatched eyes, much like her father. "You could have knocked," she said moodily and stood, her naked body was a sight to behold. Her flawless silver skin and white hair streaked with red was quite beautiful in a non- traditional sense. She looked much like her mother, short and plump, but her face was hard like her father's. She pulled a silver gown from the air and looked at him expectantly while she fiddled with the ties. "Well, if you can't learn to knock at least learn to come around at a descent hour. It isn't even light out yet!"  
  
"You are in a mood today aren't you," her father said mirthlessly.  
  
"It isn't today yet, Papa! It's still dark outside!" Her eyes darkened with annoyance. She didn't have the best relationship with her father, he was egotistical, arrogant and moody, and much to his displeasure so was she. She had gained none of her mother's sweet temperament, and they had fought many a battle. She noticed the look on her father's face and feel suddenly silent. "What has happened?" She asked quietly.  
  
He stood, from his spot on the marble floor and looked around. The room was incredibly large, carved by the best stone mason's from the living rock of the Glade. The Lady of the Glade spent most of her time in Dragon form and the Glade had accommodated her. "Actually I have a surprise for you."  
  
  
  
Arden walked away from her father and sat in front of a vanity that looked as if it had been crafted from a living tree, which it had. Leaves still on, it was a masterpiece of Druid magic, a gift to her from a clan when she took on the mantel of Chieftain. She pulled a tortoise shell comb from a drawer and began to brush her long hair out and braid it. "I know that Sarah has returned," she said simply. She could see her father in the mirror looking angry, and growing steadily angrier with her with every stroke of the comb. "I wasn't spying, you were being loud." She said in answer to his unsaid question.  
  
"I do not recalling asking you if you knew weather Sarah has returned or not, girl." He said his fists were clenched.  
  
Arden turned to her father and placed an amethyst pendent around her slender neck. She was feeling rather playful, she had napped for many hours and for the first time in years left things to her subordinates to be handled while she took a break. After three days she was feeling frisky, and was not above giving her father some do grief. "Then what have you come stealing into my chambers like a thief in the night to tell me then… I know you didn't come for a social call." Her face was hard and it hurt him deeply.  
  
No, I haven't come for a social call. What kind of man have I been to you? Certainly I haven't been a good father to you, have I? I have been so wrapped up in my loss that I forgot how to bring you close to my heart. "You are right, I haven't come for a social call, Arden. I have come to offer you a boon."  
  
Arden Le Fae was the only Fae ever to posses the blood all three of the Fae races. Though she was not a Druid by training, she was by philosophy, like her mother, and she produced the same moss colored crystals. As a child she had been apprehensive of her father, moody, and occasionally violent with the goblins, which she got along with fairly well, but distant and cruel as well. She had found the company of Emily and the denizens of the Labyrinth to be much better, and she knew that the rift between them was as much her fault as his. A boon. A boon was a favor, a blessing, and Arden found it hard to believe that Jareth would have anything that she was interested in, he had distanced himself from his allies, and his parents. The young woman's brow rose expectantly. She waited.  
  
"Your mother is beyond the veil, but still you are able to communicate with her, I don't know why I cannot, but that doesn't matter. I want you to go to your mother and ask her permission." Jareth paused. How to tell his daughter that he planned to wed a mortal.  
  
Arden's thin brow rose. Should I tell him it's no use? Or hear him out. "Go on."  
  
"I want you to ask your mother if it's alright."  
  
A grown mortal woman may not have laughed at her father for saying that he wanted to marry again, but Arden was not a mortal woman. She had the life span of all Fae, but because of the Dragon Kin blood in her and the strange fact that the blood was the most prominent in her body her aging process was much slower then other Fae. In short, Arden was the most powerful Fae in the realm, but was still prone to fits of the giggles. A peal of laughter burst out of her before she could stop her self. Tears streamed down her face and she fell backwards out of her stool. "Papa!" she fought for air and sobered quickly when she saw his face. "Papa, first of all, even if I could ask her there is no need to. You know that she only wants you to be happy, and secondly I can't. She hasn't come to me in years!" She smoothed away the tears and looked at her father with pity. "Do you not understand? Mama is beyond the Veil. You will not see her again unless you are killed. She doesn't want you to die. She wants you to live, and if living means that you take another wife, then so be it." She walked across the room to her father and draped her long delicate arms around his shoulders. It was an unusual and unexpected show of affection, for she didn't usually feel affection for her father, but today she thought that perhaps he could use it. "Whatever it is that you have found within Sarah that touches the place in your heart that Mama holds may or may not be true. You can't fill the hole with Sarah, you must make room."  
  
"Why are you so wise, girl?"  
  
"Things are very difficult for us Fae when we lose a loved one. Human's can at least be comforted in the fact that they will see each other again in the afterlife. We have no such recourse, no comfort, only a deep sense of loss." Her eyes, so beautiful, in that strange way, were expressing her deep understanding for her father. He was a good man, deep down.  
  
Jareth took a moment and basked in the wonderment of his only child. He supposed that the reason why they had never gotten on was because they were close in nature. She was belligerent, and moody, and beautiful, and she had a fierce sense of protection for the things she loved. She would eventually come to accept Sarah as the woman he now loved, but would she like it? No sense in wondering over it. She was a wise woman, and seemed to understand perfectly.  
  
"Papa, I will warn you though that she will die."  
  
"Eventually, she will pass on, but I will have many more years with her then even I had with your mother."  
  
The young woman nodded, they had spent a year together as a married couple, and for most of it Annalisa had been so pregnant she could do little, but their short time together had been enough to make him suffer for her for four hundred and some odd years.  
  
Arden Le Fae looked and truly saw her father for the first time in many years.  
  
She smiled. 


	3. Memory

A/N: Silver Space! You're getting ahead of me here! Shush! *Giggle* Oh, thanks everyone for the reviews… I am planning on posting a couple of chapters today because this weekend was a complete mess, and I didn't get to… Oh, by the way, I am sure that some of you are wondering why more isn't from Jareth's point of view. I find that because I am female I have had problems writing about Jareth in a realistic way… Anyway, who can really fathom the aspirations and motives of a nearly immortal Goblin King? Not I. So, my female characters are more realistic (because they are character's I have a better time relating too.) and I can more easily write with their POV.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine, all characters not portrayed in the Labyrinth are mine unless it's the ones that Bill Shakespeare owns.  
  
  
  
Interlude: Time is a relative thing. It is relative to space and age. A child thinks that they will never grow old, and an adult sees the clock speeding away faster and faster until finally, it stops.  
  
The world of the Labyrinth moved on, and with it time.  
  
Chapter 3: Memory  
  
It could be said that all Fae were touched by a bit of madness, their longevity made them paranoid, ruthless and occasionally jaded. Never the less, most Fae had a keen hold on reality and it is truly a heart-wrenching thing when one losses his or her grip on it. After a long life of one tragedy after another Emily Kildalton found that she didn't like the reality that she was living in so she decided that she didn't live there anymore.  
  
Emmy had her lucid moments, but today was not going to be one.  
  
Emily had been sitting alone for some time. She was used to it, she much preferred her own company to the company of other's, even Arden was a bit much for her most of the time. After Annie had died she spoke little, and kept to herself a lot. There was nothing really left for her. Her only blood was gone, except for Arden, and she loved the girl, but she couldn't be apart of the girl's life in the way she wanted to be. She had been too young to know why, but it had burrowed into her mind and sat waiting.  
  
After the shock of the death of three Fae in the same night every Fae in the realm felt the magic pulse that echoed loudly. Finally, after many years the land had settled down again, but Emily did not recover. She slipped slowly into what the court doctor's called "madness." _Am I mad as a hatter? Giggle Probably…_  
  
Mad, yes, she was mad. She could admit it. She was four hundred years old and rather enjoyed being mad.  
  
Someone had told Emily, she couldn't remember whom, maybe Arden, or a maid, that she was to meet someone. She wondered if Aelis had come back. She had been gone a long time, not as long as Annie, but a while. Emily remembered seeing a dark haired woman a few days ago for a moment when she came to visit Jareth. She liked visiting her brother. She knew he was lonely and felt it her duty to make him feel better, weather it worked or not it didn't matter, she liked being with him.  
  
Emily looked around the room, she couldn't remember quite what she had been thinking about. An elderly Goblin that called her by name had brought her to the dinning room. Not the dinning room that they had shared as a family but a larger, more ornate room that Emily found she rather disliked. It was actually quite gaudy.  
  
The door opened softly and Jareth showed himself. His mismatched eyes were heavy with worry. Emily sat her hands in her lap, like a proper girl. She was humming to herself. "Emmy," he said cautiously, hopping that she was at least mostly lucid today. "I have someone I want you to meet,"  
  
The young woman looked up at her brother-in-law. The man that had raised her, and wondered why he always looked so sad, Annie was gone, but that had been a long time ago. She missed Annie desperately, but found things to occupy her time. To keep her from thinking about Annie, she should suggest he get something like that. Jareth hugged her.  
  
Sarah walked into the room, cautiously. She had heard about Emily, her sad and tragic past, and wanted to make a good impression on her. She stood in the door way watching their display of affection and wondered how old the young woman was, she was short for a Fae, or at least the Fae women that she had met. She had beautiful red hair that reminded her of someone, but she couldn't place the face exactly.  
  
The last few days in the Castle had been strange, she had expected everything to be strange, but upon finding out that Jareth had a daughter and a sister in law had come as quite a shock. She didn't know if she was upset about it or not, but assumed that even Goblin Kings could marry.  
  
The soft pink clouds that keep Emily's mind in a nice cozy haze moved lazily where they wished, but through the clouds she could see a bit of something strange. "Are you here to keep Jareth from missing Annie?" She asked innocently.  
  
Sarah looked to Jareth confused, he stood next to the woman, his face a masque. She wondered if she would ever truly know him, and assumed probably not.  
  
The blasted man didn't say a word, he was obviously waiting for her to say something that would somehow fix the entire situation. "I came because I am a friend of Jareth's and I wanted to be here in the Underground so I could see him."  
  
"Oh, so you came to play?" The girl seemed like an adult her posture was that of a woman, but her face was innocent but her eyes were sad, sadness that reached her soul and keep going. Sarah felt a pang of sympathy for her.  
  
I shouldn't have come. Maybe I should have let well enough alone. I mean, he has everything he needs here. Why does he need a mortal woman with feelings for him she can't work out herself. She thinks I am going to replace her sister. Oh my God, what have I done? I am going to make this girl's entire world fall down. Sarah was panicking. She knew that she was panicking but couldn't stop it. Guilt rose up like bile and she felt the world spin. The guilt was harsh and pounded her skull like a drum.  
  
Sarah Williams was a woman, she had been a woman for many years now, and her spoilt ways had gone a long time ago, but within her she felt the urge to run, and for the first time in many years she succumbed to fear. She did the sensible thing.  
  
She ran.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
She continued running until she was good and lost in the castle. Hoping they wouldn't bother coming and finding her, she was embarrassed now. Her sight was horribly blurred, her eyes were red, and she kept going until she was completely out of breath and then sat down in a pile.  
  
When her tears finally stopped and she looked up she was in a room that she had never been in before. It was like a museum. The walls were impossibly high (big surprise) but they were covered in a multitude of beautiful things. There were tapestries and paintings, sculptures, jewelry, busts, musical instruments that Sarah had never heard or let alone seen. She was in awe. She studied the work on the ground floor and then took the spiral staircase to the next level. This level was different. It seemed as if it was dedicated to someone or a group of people rather. His family perhaps? She walked the ledge, looking at every display. There was a sculpture, made from carved colored stones. It was a woman and a young boy in a garden. She was beautiful. Her hair was corn colored silk that hung in ringlets, her dress blue and hugging her attractively full figure. The boy had the same golden hair and he was picking flowers. The plate at the bottom of the display said "Titania In Her Glory". This Titania seemed familiar.  
  
She studied each as she had done before. There was a picture of Emily, young Emily, perhaps what a human of six or seven years would look like. The portrait next to her was a different young woman, the picture was disconcerting and Sarah wondered if this was a real person or a fantasy, but nothing was ever as it seemed and so it might well be real.  
  
The woman was well built, full at the hips, with a small waist and delicate long fingered hands. Her skin was silver, translucent and sparkling. Her hair was long, past her waist and braided in a thick braid that hung over her shoulder, it was white, with sections of red. Sarah knew that it was natural for some reason, but this tidbit was not the disconcerting part. The woman's eyes were strange. One blue, one green, mismatched like Jareth's but they pupil of each eye was elongated and curved, into a crescent moon shape. She looked into those eyes and saw the shape of her jaw line and felt a deep sense of loss. The picture next to it was of a large silver dragon, the eye's the same. The plate at the bottom in between the pictures said simply "Chieftain Arden Le Fae".  
  
Arden.  
  
The name was familiar. Everything is familiar, damn it, why? Why do I recognize servants and rooms that I have never been in. Why?  
  
She moved on, wiping the tears that had fallen to her cheeks. The next section of wall held four pictures. The first was taller then a man. It was another woman, she looked short for a Fae, like Emily, perhaps it was a family trait, her facial features weren't as severe either, and she had a pert nose, startlingly large green eyes and pouting lush lips. Her hair was red, like flames or autumn leaves, long and braided then placed in a wide bun on her head. Her face was kind, she smiled, but smile didn't reach her eyes, nor would it ever. Her dress was of a color that Sarah could never describe. Sarah stopped. She stood silent. No, it's very describable. It's green, moss green in the painting. Why…. Sarah felt her world slip away.  
  
  
  
"Lady Annalisa, you must sit still please, we are nearly finished." The painter groaned. He looked at her annoyed, but when she smiled at him he smiled back and settled down.  
  
It was like seeing out of someone else's eyes, but knowing the narration before the play started. She felt her head swim.  
  
She had been siting in that blasted chair for days, wearing this blasted dress for days, that he would never be able to portray on canvas anyway, and she was getting tired of it. The corset was too low and too tight to make sitting comfortable and simple oil paints and a brush could not catch the damn color. She thought it had been kind of Jareth to commission the painting but she was growing rather annoyed now. She had told Jareth last night at dinner that she had far too much work to do to bother with sitting for Leander, but he changed the subject and now she was doubly annoyed.  
  
The door to the sunroom opened and he swept in, all hair and leather and smug looking. She frowned at him. "Come to gloat no doubt," she said quietly. "Have wonderful that you have managed to find your way up Jareth, I feared that someone might have put you in an oubliette." The woman smile reached her eyes as he scowled at her. They had been arguing for weeks, there was no real reason for it, it had just happened one day. She knew he was worried about her, she had been slipping into states of depression that made her useless for days, but he was still be horribly difficult to live with.  
  
"I came to make peace with you, woman, now shut up. Leander, how much longer?"  
  
"Ten minutes, sire," he said quietly, he was amused by the Lady's annoyance, and Jareth's scowl. The man was beautiful, an artist's dream and nightmare, but he was arrogant, and it was nice to see a powerful man snipped at by a female.  
  
"Good," he turned to her. "When you are done Aelis will bring you to me."  
  
"I am too busy, Jareth, please. I have so much to do!" Anything to say to make him go away, she didn't want to spend time with him. He was being cranky and she would far rather sit in this damn dress with this painter then sit with him and fight.  
  
"You will come, weather you are busy or not. You have no time limit's woman!" He had stepped out of the room.  
  
Her eyes swam back into focus lazily. She starred at the woman in the painting. "I know you." She said softly.  
  
"Yes, you do," the voice startled Sarah, she turned and recognized the woman from the other pictures. Arden.  
  
"But who is she? There is no plaque."  
  
Arden smiled at the woman, the girl, or rather woman, she was a woman, just a much younger woman that Arden was used to. The woman was attractive. She could see why her father liked her. She had felt the build up of magic and came quickly, shielding her father from it. She had stood in the shadows when the woman had fallen under the memory. "She is my mother." She said simply. She could allow Sarah to ask questions, but her questions must be answered delicately.  
  
"You are Arden." Sarah was feeling apprehensive. She had no idea what was going on, and really had no one to ask. She was sure that Jareth would think she was mad, and other then Jareth she had really only talked to Goblins, which were a complete bore.  
  
"One in the same," she bowed, low and flamboyant.  
  
She must be his daughter, there is no other way. "Can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Ask me no questions, I will tell you no lies." Arden smiled at her. There was something about her that she found strange. Not something she could touch, but something she could feel emanating from the woman.  
  
Sarah nodded slowly, "I… I just…"  
  
"You just experienced a memory that was not your own." She finished for the other woman. Arden was a wise woman, she had helped bring children into the world, she had healed, and hurt with the same tenacity, but she was unsure of how to approach the questions that this woman would be asking.  
  
"How?"  
  
Instead of answering the question directly, Arden decided to be enigmatic, "This is the Gallery. My father built it long before I was born. Long before Emily and my mother had come to live here. He had been the King of the Labyrinth and the Goblins for a long time before their arrival. This room was created for a few different reasons. At first it was only the section below us. Chock full of statues and tapestries, all very beautiful but long forgotten. When my mother came here it was after the death of her family, they were killed by a plot of men that were very evil, and before she died her heart reached out and made sure that they would no longer be a threat to her family.  
  
When she first came here she was afraid and grieving and needed something to occupy her time other then an infant. So, my father gave her a project. She was to redecorate the gallery. Add or take away whatever she felt the need of, and to make sure that it was pleasing to the eye and to the mind." Arden looked at the paintings and smiled. The second painting was of her father and herself, as an infant, her father was holding her in his arms and he was looking very sad as usual. There was nothing that could ease the pain there.  
  
"She died when I was born, this section was added later. The last is one done by Titania, my grandmother. It made me cry when I saw it as a girl." She walked to the family portrait that Titania had done. There was never a time when all three of them were together except for the night she died, but Titania in her grief had painted it for them. Jareth had kept it locked away until after Arden was a woman.  
  
"You didn't answer my question."  
  
"My mother came to me once a year after her death until twenty eight years ago, Sarah, and then there was nothing. I couldn't even sense her presence.' She turned, and spoke quietly. "That could mean only a few things."  
  
"What could it mean?" Sarah asked. She had forgotten the early question with the sudden fear that rose in her, if his wife was alive would he still want her? Would he take her back to Earth because she was no longer needed? Sarah found herself waiting in rapt attention to Arden. She felt like she was a teenager again. This was ridiculous.  
  
"I asked the same question so I went into my personal library and started looking for reasons why a spirit would disappear from beyond the veil. There are only two. Reincarnation, or final death. Usually final death comes quick. If a spirit is not strong enough to hold off the other spirits then it dies, goes away never to return. Reincarnation usually takes years, they gather the strength to go and then go."  
  
"Are you saying she was reincarnated?"  
  
"Yes, about thirty years ago."  
  
"But, where is she?"  
  
"I don't know, usually someone open to magic will start remembering things, or dreaming things from the past. Sometimes they remember pictures, or recognize people or places that they should have no reckoning of." Arden shrugged and turned back to the paintings.  
  
"So, what are you saying exactly?"  
  
"All I am saying is that there is a reason why my father fell in love with you after four hundred years of isolating himself." She looked hard at this woman. "Can you think of another reason why a man like my father would fall in love and moon over a fifteen year old spoilt girl that defeated him, then continue on for twelve years?" Arden disappeared in a flash of light.  
  
Sarah only had more questions. 


	4. What to Do?

Disclaimer: Still not mine.  
  
A/N: Thank you Seraphim! Actually I have considered writing a book for a long time (childhood dream) but I really never thought I was good enough, so I decided to direct my efforts to ff.net! I am glad I did… Maybe this will give me the confidence to wrote a full length novel… Thanks so much to everyone that reviews… You people keep me going! P.S. Next chapter or so hold's J/S action… I promise!  
  
  
  
Chapter 4: What to do?  
  
  
  
It was raining. Again. She sat under the eve of her bedroom window and smoked a long sickly looking cigarette. She hadn't had a cigarette in years, but with the way things were going she had been desperate for one. She drew on her ragged cigarette and wondered what the hell was going on. She was losing her mind, she was sure. She was seeing things that weren't there, remembering things that never happened, at least to her, and now, she was avoiding the man that she came to this wretched place to know more about.  
  
She was used to rain. There was so much in Maine that she felt she could walk outside and take a shower. At least at home she could hear the taping of the rain on her roof, or on the windows, here you just had to close the heavy curtains and hope that it didn't rain to hard. She was annoyed. Mad that her life hadn't turned out the way that she had expected it too. Mad that the man that had loved her for more then twelve years had so little to say to her that the little time she got to spend with him was filled with nothing but talk of the weather. That or how the fairies were petitioning the king to ban the dwarves from using squirt guns on them.  
  
"What the hell am I doing here?" She said out loud and took another long drag off the cigarette, she looked at it thoughtfully and wondered if she could get Jareth to make a trip Aboveground so she could pick up a real pack of smokes. This rolling her own crap needed to stop, first of all she wasn't very good at and secondly Underground tobacco was nasty. She had things that needed to be accomplished here, like working out her feelings for Jareth, and letting him work out how he felt for her. It didn't seem like much was happening though.  
  
She got up and wandered into her room. "So, Arden thinks I am the incarnation of her mother. Great! I want to be the incarnation of the Hulk too but we don't always get our way!" She was pacing, trying to make sense of this madness. Yes, this was madness, every part of it, her from the beginning. She had a bout of insanity and wished her small brother away. She thought about Toby for a moment, he really had not grown up to deserve the risks that she took to save him, drugs and girls were the first thing on this mind these days, she hoped he would grow out of it. Yes, insanity. Ever speaking to the owl had been crazy, let alone wishing herself away. Then the talk with Arden had been it's own special kind of crazy. She shuddered at the thought of Arden, the girl was damn scary, even if she had tried to be kind. "I don't care if she is my kid from another life, I don't have to like it," she said to no one in particular.  
  
A loud knock resounded off of her door and she scrambled to put out her cigarette. The privy was the best place for it, she watched it fall almost longingly, knowing she would have to roll another soon. "Come," she said loudly, and hopefully commandingly.  
  
The door creaked open and a blond head peeked in.  
  
"Speak of the devil and she shall appear." Sarah said quietly.  
  
"Hey," Arden, seeing that Sarah was neither naked nor preoccupied came in with a slight bounce to her walk. She looked happy, it was the first time that she had seen the blond happy about anything. _Aren't they supposed to be perky?_  
  
"Hey, how are you doing this miserable day?" Sarah asked, annoyed that now she had to deal with Arden and was lacking a cigarette.  
  
"What's a cigarette?" Arden asked, her brows knitting together in some kind of white caterpillar.  
  
"How…" Sarah paused, suddenly suspicious.  
  
"You're projecting." She said simply. "Papa does it too, when you are particularly in need of something you can't help but project it. Apparently you and Da had some time alone recently, cause last week you were… uh… being extremely obvious." Arden giggled at the younger woman's horrified look.  
  
She assumed that with the way her Father had been behaving the last few days it was much more likely that Sarah had managed all on her own, but she was in an incredible mood and wanted to poke at Sarah a bit.  
  
"I… I… No, we haven't had any alone time, thank you." Sarah huffed and rummaged around in her writing desk for the bag of tobacco she had managed to get from Hoggle when she saw him.  
  
"I can get you a pipe if you want, it will taste much better with out the paper," Arden remarked on her way to sit on Sarah's bed. She plopped down cross-legged and examined her nails.  
  
"That would be very kind of you thank you, umm… what do you want?" She was trying not to be rude but she was annoyed that she would still have to smoke the damn roll up until Arden could get her a pipe.  
  
"Oh, you want another now? Well, here, use mine." Arden pulled an ornate black wooden pipe from her pouch. Sarah took it gratefully. The woman sat in silence while Sarah managed the pipe and took a drag. "Much better huh?"  
  
"Oh yes," she sighed and suddenly felt much more relaxed.  
  
"So, you want to know what I want. Well, I have been reading and talking with the older druids and have come to some conclusions about our conversation earlier." She waited for a response, when she didn't get one she continued. "Anyway, I have a few books I want you to look at. There is some information about reincarnation, mundane magical powers and such. You may find them interesting and they may help you find out what is happening to you."  
  
Sarah looked at the leather bound books, and was shocked she could read the words on the page. "I… I can read these pages."  
  
"Yes, anyone can. Anyone with a magical nature can, and from the way you were projecting you would have to be." Arden smiled and got up. "Well, I have to go see my father about some business. If you have any questions just let Emily know that you need me and I will come, or summon you." She laughed at Sarah's face as she scanned through the pages. "I would just tell you, but you must find these things out for yourself, Sarah, or you can never be truly whole."  
  
"Thanks," she said around the pipe, and didn't look up as the girl left.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
"Jareth is going to be mad." Emily said munching on a carrot stick. She didn't often come in to dinner, but occasionally she would like to sit in Aelis sleeping chamber and share dinner with her niece.  
  
The younger woman swished her tail slightly in annoyance and sighed. Smoke curled from her nostrils in thin pillars. She nodded and laid her enormous head on her front paws, like a dog.  
  
"You could switch to Fae form so it would be easier to talk. Or are you doing this to be aggravating?"  
  
Arden batted her tub sized eyes and gave her aunt a look as if to say _Who? Me? I am a perfectly docile little girl I would never do anything aggravating. _ She changed instead of fighting it. "I know he won't like it but he really doesn't have a choice in the matter. I mean, I did go to the Tree to make sure."  
  
"How do you think he'll take it?"  
  
"Badly, he takes everything badly. It doesn't matter what I do he is moody and angry with me." She knew that she sounded childish, but it was okay, Emily would never say anything to anyone. She was rather young to be the ruler of a kingdom of ancient magic users, but she was the last in the most direct line, and Emmy certainly didn't want to rule the place. Her mother had spent her year on the throne rebuilding and then when it was time for Arden to take over it was a smooth transition. She giggled thinking about the first time she had been in any kind of real trouble with her father. She had bound to the Glade instinctively and stayed there for three days until he could find her. She had gotten quite a beating for it, but the whole thing had been worth it.  
  
"When did you go to the Tree?" Emily asked, she knew that Arden went there rarely, and she always announced it.  
  
"The night before last," she poured herself a cup of wine and sat down Indian style on the pillows, then popped a piece of cheese into her mouth. She didn't really want to tell her aunt about her trip to the Tree. It had been about six years since she had gone and the last time she had sworn that she would not return. Of course, the heart of the Glade held more secrets then any ancient Fae and so she was forced to seek its guidance. Arden wondered if her mother had known about it, she assumed not, she found that her mother hadn't known many things about the Glade.  
  
Emily was feeling pretty lucid the last few days. Very few things had occurred that would normally send her sliding into her pink clouds of happiness. She wondered about Arden, it didn't seem as if she was very happy about Sarah being there. "Well, what happened."  
  
The younger woman sighed heavily. "I think that it's her, the Tree is sure. I just don't know how Papa will take it. I am sure that he is going to assume that I as meddling in his affairs, though I wasn't. It is just as important for me to know as her. I am the woman's daughter after all. I don't think she likes me very much though."  
  
"Well, you are a lot to digest, Arden. Jareth had a hard time getting used to you too, especially with you changing every other day." Emily winked at her niece. She felt rather old, the last four hundred years had been wasted. She should be married with a family by now, Jareth still took children from time to time, perhaps she could adopt a few of them.  
  
"He has a portrait of me in both forms, next to a picture of Mother." Arden said, she was deep in thought, wondering when and how to explain this whole mess to her father. He had been extremely distant from everyone lately. She assumed that he was feeling guilty. He felt guilty about everything.  
  
"Just be yourself and she will love you. You do have to tell Jareth though. He won't be happy if you keep him in the dark about it, and if you don't act soon then he is going to die of guilt, and ruin his relationship with her this time around."  
  
"I know, I know, but how to do it?"  
  
"Just close your eyes and let it go. That's what I do." Emily smiled and ate another piece of bread.  
  
Arden frowned at her aunt. "Fine, alright. I'll just go up to my father, and say, "Hey, Dad, guess what? You know that Sarah chick? Well, she's my mom!" I am sure he is going to love this."  
  
"What else can you do?" Emily laughed. Goodness Arden was amusing when she was trying to work things out for herself. 


	5. Arden's Tree

Disclaimer: Not mine, though David Bowie is my hero… Cause he is just that cool.  
  
Comments, flames and love letters can all be sent to the review box please. Thanks for reading and reviewing!  
  
Chapter 5: Arden's Tree  
  
The sun was shining brightly and the birds sang songs of spring and joy. It was completely depressing Jareth. He sat under the tree, looking somewhat less then regal. His daughter had shown up and demanded that he meet her under the tree in the middle of the Glade just a few hours ago. Arden had been adamant about it and for the first time in his life he didn't argue the point.  
  
He just went for some reason, not sure of what the child had in store but he was anxious to get it over with. He had promised himself that he would spend more time with Sarah, she was growing distant, and more cross every day. A month in the castle of the Goblin King was enough to make anyone cross, but she had seemed so mellow and sweet when she came, he was sure that she would have adjusted by now. Of course, the best-laid plans are often lead astray and he was sure that he was doomed to be with this moody woman for the rest of his life with no respite.  
  
Sitting under the tree was making his legs protest, but he was in complete control of his body and he urged them to be quiet, Arden would arrive soon and everything would be over with.  
  
Arden did not arrive soon, she waited in the underbrush, in the disguise of the smallest animal she could morph into. She was anxious and didn't want to confront her father just yet, he was always so difficult to deal with, and today would be no exception. She morphed into her Fae form and walked to the tree. She smiled at him, his greeting was the smile and nod that was customary. "Why have you called me here today, Arden?"  
  
She looked at him, and bit her lip. "Papa, I have to talk to you about something that you aren't going to like."  
  
He looked at his daughter for a moment as if she were an interesting bug. She was always bringing up things that he wasn't going to like. He wasn't happy about her taking over the glade, or the first time she got married, or when she decided that she would rule alone. He wasn't usually happy about anything, but his daughter's happiness was important to him. He wondered if she was pregnant, that would be lovely. He would lose another woman he loved. He dreaded these meetings with her. They always put him on the defensive. She was so much like her mother, always walking on tiptoes around him until she finally just talked herself into spewing whatever information she had like a tidal wave until he was drowning. He missed her mother, if Annalisa had been there perhaps he would have been a better father, perhaps they would have been closer, perhaps he would understand her better, he thought that it was a possibility but far to late to find out whether or not it would have mattered. His daughter was a powerful woman now, and there was little he could say to dissuade her from what she wanted to do. Even if he didn't like it.  
  
"Just tell me what is wrong, girl, I will be happy to help in any way I can."  
  
"I don't think you can help with this." She said enigmatically.  
  
"Get on with it, Arden."  
  
She nodded and paced. She'd been thinking about this for days, but how to approach it. She took a deep breath. "Mama was reincarnated." There it was said. It wasn't everything, but it was enough to get his interest peeked, hopefully.  
  
He stood his eye's wide. "Where, who? How do you know?" He started to pace himself.  
  
"Papa, Sarah has been the only woman to beat the Labyrinth in any of the annuals right?"  
  
"Yes, what does that have to do with anything."  
  
"Sarah also came through the void with out any protest from the Labyrinth, even children trying to beat her get protest, and usually have at least a headache."  
  
"Yes," Jareth was being extremely dense all of a sudden. His brain refused to make the connections that his heart had been making for weeks.  
  
"But this fifteen year old girl, who read a book, managed to get here with no side effects made friends with a Rock Caller, a Dwarf and a Fox and then beat your Labyrinth, with you trying to stop her, even blatantly cheating. Perhaps she got a little help."  
  
"Yes, from the Rock Caller and the Dwarf."  
  
"No, I mean, the only people that I have ever known to be able to go through the Labyrinth with out being hurt was someone that knew the way very well." Arden was waiting for it to sink it. She didn't feel like just handing over the information for him to inspect.  
  
Jareth took in this information and was confused even more by it. "So, Sarah is the reincarnation of your mother? How did that happen?"  
  
"How does anything happen, Papa? The Mother decided that she needed to be reincarnated for some reason. Good grief, don't look a gift Pegasus in the mouth." Arden frowned and shook her head at her father. He was being exceptionally dense. He looked at her blankly. "King Jareth Le Fae, the woman that you have brought to the Labyrinth with no recourse is none other then the reincarnated soul of your past wife. The only woman you have ever loved before. Good grief! Do I have to spell it out for you, man! You don't have to be guilt ridden anymore! You can be happy with her!"  
  
Jareth stared at his daughter, digesting. This was incredible news, but what did Sarah think of it. He didn't want her to think that she was just a replacement, even if, in a sense she was. It wasn't her fault that she was once Annalisa Kildalton, wife to the Goblin King, mother of the Druid Chieftain. "What should I do?"  
  
The sigh that Arden gave him was hard enough to sail ships. "Go to her you stupid man!" With that she disappeared in a shower of glitter and light. Leaving her father to make his own mistakes. It would at least be fun to watch. 


	6. Cold Feet

Disclaimer: Not mine, though I love it like my own. Sara Smiles is a great song by Hall and Oats, used with out their permission, but I am not making any money on this, so blah.  
  
A/N: It's Friday, I'm in a weird mood because my husband and I are currently contemplating our future together. not really in a good way I might add and because of that I uh… haven't uh… well, you know… The Mommy/Daddy dance… So our heroine is feeling as frustrated as I am…  
  
  
  
Chapter 6: Cold Feet.  
  
_If I don't have sex soon I am going to explode with the built up tension_ that was certainly a way to put it. Perhaps she should attempt to be a bit more subtle then that. _Jareth, you need to hump me like a wild monkey._ No, that may not be subtle enough either. She had been in the Labyrinth for a month, and the closest thing to action she'd seen was when Jareth had twirled her around in the Esher room. Her heart was surely racing, but that was it.  
  
_I shouldn't be embarrassed. I am a grown woman, with womanly needs. There is nothing wrong with needing some sexual satisfaction. _ It didn't matter. No matter how hard she thought about it, and how much she wanted to she could not bring her self to initiate a bout of hot meaningless sex with the man of her dreams. She'd been having those dreams about him for five years but when she had the chance to take a dive and get what she really wanted she got cold feet. _Well, cold something. _  
  
She had felt much better since Arden had given her the pipe. She had managed to calm her nerves enough to actually start talking to Jareth, but every time she would bring up their future he would run off with some lame excuse or another. _I spend more time sighing then breathing around here. _  
  
The gardens were beautiful, and like other things in the castle more familiar then what was comfortable. There was something about the place that soothed her though. A level of comfort that she could not find in any other room. The Esher room was a place she went to think often, she'd gone to the Fiery Forest with Ludo but it wasn't the same. She'd sing and danced with them, laughing and having a wonderful time but something wasn't right. Like she shouldn't be there, as if another presence was keeping her from truly enjoying herself. _It's probably that damn Annie or whatever her name was. Why can't you leave me alone! I just want to live my life, you had your time here! _  
  
"That is terrible of me," she said softly, sitting on the fountain listening to the sound of the gurgling water, and the sounds of creatures that were most likely a type of squirrel and rabbits playing in the leaves. She pushed her hair behind her ears and looked down at herself, and forgot her earlier guilt over Annie. She had been wearing a mix of Earth and Underground clothing for the last month, she had donned a pair of jeans and a loose peasant shirt with a belt to keep it from billowing. "I'm way to big to wear stuff like this anymore," she laughed at herself. She had gotten pretty big in the last twelve years, and a month in the Labyrinth hadn't helped at all. Her hips were wide and her belly had a paunch to it.  
  
"You're beautiful, no matter what dress size you wear." His voice dripped honey. Appearing from behind the other side of the fountain she started but laughed at his look.  
  
"Well, thank you. It's good to know I can be a cow and you would still be attracted to me." She gave him a wide grin.  
  
Jareth did not respond, he simply strolled around the fountain slowly. Studying it, slowly moving from the fountain to her. His hands were clasped behind his back. He looked at her closely, as if she were an interesting bug. "Do you like the garden?"  
  
The woman nodded, watching his graceful form. "It's beautiful, this fountain is incredible." She offered, hoping that he would pick up the conversation this time. Normally it was left to her, and she really couldn't think of anything other to say then, "Please rip off my clothes." Which under the circumstances may not be especially appropriate.  
  
She felt her palms getting sweaty. He was so handsome. His hair had grown on her since she arrived, everyone had to grow up some. She just hadn't been prepared for him to change. There was a darkness there that touched her soul like nothing else. _Do you dream of me? _ She asked, she didn't want an answer so she did not say the words, afraid of what his answer would be.  
  
"Our relationship has changed very little in the last month, Sarah," he said matter of fact-ly. His face was a masque of calm.  
  
Emotions built up with in her, she knew that their relationship hadn't changed any, it was aggravating and infuriating. She hated being in that big lonely castle with him the same cold cruel Jareth, at least when he was a villain it was fitting, now it was disconcerting. _I didn't come here to play house, but I didn't come here to be friends either… Even though that's what I said I wanted… _ Instead of sharing her feelings she nodded, urging him to continue.  
  
"I was hoping that perhaps we could spend…" he paused, "some time." He look he shot her was full of unsaid meaning. She wondered how long it had been for him. Probably a hundred years or more she thought. Unless he was the kind of man that thought as long as love wasn't involved it didn't count. She couldn't honestly say she cared at that point.  
  
"I agree that we should spend some time… together. I think that perhaps if we get to know one another better, other things will come with time." She was trying to be subtle, it was taking ever ounce of will power she had not to just attack him. God, he looked so good in those loose britches tucked into deer skin boots and dress shirt. Everything looked incredible on him, but today there was something ever more alluring about her Goblin King. She licked her lips, then sucked on her lower lip for a split second. She was nervous and it was getting worse, as he came around the fountain again.  
  
He came around and sat next to her, looking at her intently. Her eyes remained fixed on her hands. "You are a beautiful woman, Sarah," he whispered. "More beautiful then when I first fell in love with you," _no that isn't right, Annalisa was just as beautiful as Sarah. _ Sarah had a quality about her that Annie never possessed, he couldn't put his finger on it, but perhaps it was confidence.  
  
_I wonder what kind of birth control they have here? Maybe they have a goblin sit at the end of the bed and laugh at the man. That would probably work pretty well. _ Sarah choked down a giggle at the thought.  
  
"Something funny?" He asked.  
  
"Um, yes, but it isn't appropriate. We were having a serious conversation and you were being very romantic but a strange thought came into my head."  
  
"Do share."  
  
Panic rose in her throat, she couldn't tell him what she had been thinking. There was no way that she could share that. He would be horrified. "I can't." She choked out.  
  
"Why not," he was starting to look angry.  
  
"All right, but you are going to laugh at me and never speak to me again because of my perverse and grotesque mind."  
  
He nodded, "Well, at least I know the stakes." Jareth chuckled at her confused look.  
  
"I was just wondering what people use for family planning in the Underground. I wondered if perhaps they had a goblin sit at the end of the bed and laugh at them." She felt the tears well up in her eyes. She was ready for him to storm away thinking her a horrible child. She thought she might faint when he started laughing hysterically. Tears streamed down his face.  
  
"You know, I never thought about that… Though I am sure that it would work famously though." He leaned his head against her shoulder. She was cuddly and soft, like a woman should be. "You are allowed to be as odd and humorous as you'd like. I don't have a problem with your sense of humor. It is strange, but I think it will keep me on my toes."  
  
A low sigh of relief escaped her, he was so strange about what he choose to laugh about and what he was angry about. At least he found her thought funny. _God, it feels like I've known him for years! _ They had. Twelve long years they had known one another. Through good times and bad, he had been there for her, she had never spoken to him, but just his presence was enough to lift her spirits.  
  
She felt comforted by him. Even when it was only the owl, sitting at her window or in her back yard, watching her struggle or succeed. _Now is not the time to be worrying about it. Whether or not he has been a comfort for the last twelve years or not. I have to work out my feelings, and just because he was a good friend doesn't make him material to spend the rest of my life with. _  
  
"So," she offered, "what should we do?"  
  
"Pardon? What should we do?" He looked at her quizzically.  
  
"Yes, do. What should we do, you said you wanted to spend some together, what should we do while we are spending time together?" _Rip my clothes off. That will do wonders. _  
  
"Well, we could have a picnic." He offered, looking confused.  
  
Sarah wondered if sex was an option while picnicking. Then sent the thought far away, she would have to control her naughty bits for a while longer. He seemed a bit apprehensive but hopefully he would be getting over it soon. "Sounds like fun," she said in her most convincing, not thinking about him naked voice.  
  
Jareth laughed. She was projecting again. 


End file.
